I thought one of the most interesting parts of ethics commissioner Mario Dion’s report into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s second breach of the Conflict of Interest Act was two short paragraphs containing testimony from former Treasury Board president Scott Brison.

Brison said he was meeting with SNC-Lavalin representatives Kevin Lynch and Robert Prichard on a different matter. During the course of discussion, they happened to mention they were seeking a remediation agreement. Brison thought they had some reasonable arguments, so he contacted his cabinet colleague, Jody Wilson-Raybould, to raise their concerns with her.

But here’s where things took an entirely different turn.

Brison told Dion that “it was clear to him during his brief discussion with Wilson-Raybould that she had reached a conclusion on the matter.” Further, she stated that “she could not interfere with the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.” And as a result, he “did not press the issue further with (her) and had no further discussions with her regarding SNC-Lavalin.”

I suppose Brison could be faulted for raising the issue with the attorney-general in the first place. Indeed, under Anne McLellan’s proposed new protocol, a minister will only be able to broach an issue involving an active prosecution if they have a legitimate reason to intervene, and they will have to use a formal process with a written paper trail to ensure no lines are crossed.

But the fact of the matter is when Wilson-Raybould made it clear she’d made her decision, Brison dropped it. This is what any normal person with a well-tuned ethical compass would do.

That is what the prime minister should have done, too. But he didn’t.

He personally pressured the attorney-general on several occasions and dispatched an army of staff — including Michael Wernick, Gerald Butts, Katie Telford, Matthieu Bouchard, Elder Marquez and Ben Chin — to lobby, pressure and end-run around her. At every turn, by her own account, she told them to stand down. At every turn, they ignored her and carried on. That is why the actions of the PMO are so alarming. It doesn’t appear there is anyone in the prime minister’s office who can put the reins on the boss, even when his demands cross the line.

If the prime minister is at all fearful that the RCMP might elevate the ethics commissioner’s findings to a criminal obstruction of justice charge, you’d never know it. The prime minister remains unapologetic and unfazed.

Although some lawyers maintain obstruction of justice charges may be warranted, I spoke to Canadian Civil Liberties Association executive director and former Ontario attorney-general Michael Bryant and he thinks it is unlikely. One of the main reasons is because a prosecutor would have to believe there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction. It would have to be shown that the prime minister knew what he was doing was wrong, and that he knew he was improperly furthering a private interest. So far he continues to stick to his line that he was just trying to save jobs, and he says he won’t apologize for that.

Still, it remains shocking that violating the Conflict of Interest Act carries no penalties, especially when you consider the consequences in other cases of ethical lapses.

An expense claim scandal saw Sen. Mike Duffy charged with 31 counts of fraud — and although he was ultimately found not guilty of all charges, he went through a three-year ordeal of hearings, RCMP investigation, a criminal trial and suspension from the Senate.

Former MP Dean Del Mastro overcontributed $21,000 of his own money to his re-election campaign, exceeding the $92,567 spending cap. He went to jail.

The prime minister has been found guilty of breaching the Conflict of Interest Act for the second time, using his position of authority over Wilson-Raybould to influence her decision to intervene in a criminal prosecution, violating the principles of prosecutorial independence and the rule of law. There is no fine. No charges. No trial. No resignation. No public inquiry. Not even an independent parliamentary committee investigation.

I can only presume when they drafted the law in 2006, lawmakers assumed that being found guilty of a violation of the Conflict of Interest Act would be so egregious that the offender would face serious political fallout or even be forced to resign. So much for that. The problem is, without consequences, you can be sure it will happen again.

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